


Sunset

by WrC



Series: HiJack Drabbles [12]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Basically just a whole bunch of fluff, Cute, Deaf Character, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-08
Updated: 2016-05-08
Packaged: 2018-06-07 03:41:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6783715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WrC/pseuds/WrC
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Featuring sunsets, a bench in the park, and our two favourite dorks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sunset

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Syndeh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Syndeh/gifts).



> After an idea Syndeh gave me ;)

Jack sighed, shoving his hands deep in his pockets. Yet another shift at 7/11 that he’d managed to survive. An afternoon shift this time, even though he preferred the night shifts; he’d have more time for himself then with little to no customers coming in after 01:00 or so. Night shifts didn’t combine well with his lecture schedule, however, so he was usually forced to take the noon or afternoon shifts lest his miss classes.   
  The afternoon shift had pros and cons of its own. On the one hand, he had to share it with the two most rowdy and annoying coworkers you could possibly imagine. Dealing with those chaotic entities was… challenging. On the other hand, avoiding night shifts meant he had a healthy amount of sleep, and he got to watch the sunset on his walks back home. The park was beautiful during this hour of the day.  
  Cutting through the park wasn’t much shorter than going around it, but nature combined with the golden glow of the setting sun was very nice to look at. You have to take pleasures in the little things in life, right?  
  Apparently, he wasn’t the only one that liked the park during sunset. When he passed behind a bench, he saw a teen with an unruly brown mop of hair sitting on it. Jack had never seen him before. The boy - or at least Jack thought it was a boy - was looking across the pond, away from Jack. The light glistened and reflected in the water, and Jack had to squint.  
  He wondered if he should say something. He was blinded by the sun and couldn’t even see whether the boy was looking at him or away from him. The boy didn’t move though, and Jack kept walking, averting his head from the bright, afternoon light.

* * *

Another day, another shift at 7/11. This time he has the first night-shift, meaning he walks towards the 7/11 during sunset. While he’s mentally preparing for a night with the two worst nut-jobs in crazytown, he sees the same brown hair again.  
  “Hi,” Jack simply says. The boy doesn’t respond… at all. Or did he just nod? Jack couldn’t be sure with the bright reflection of the sun in the pond blinding him.  
  He shrugs and goes to work, where he finds out that Mr. and Mrs. asshat have gotten their hands on a marshmallow gun. Great.  
  College life should be fun, right? You always hear people saying it is the best time of your life. That it would only be work after that, no time for fun, or irresponsible things. People always say that you have to live your life while you can, ‘cause once you’re done studying real life will begin.  
  Jack hoped those people were full of shit. He wasn’t having much fun at all. It sucked that he had to work so much while going to college though. It sucked that his coworkers decided he had to watch the store on his own for half an hour because they wanted a quicky in the back. And it sucked even more that his evening shifts prevented him from going to almost all parties. But it couldn’t be helped; he had to pay the bills one way or another and he didn’t think he could pull off dancing as a stripper.  
  He couldn’t wait to be done with school and actually start earning some money, instead of only building up debt.   
  He’d barely been able to wash the marshmallow residue from his hair and get a few hours of sleep, before it was time for lectures again. He tried his best to focus on what Mr. Sandman was writing down; something about pedagogics in the early sixties.  
  Jack wanted to pick up this information. He wanted to learn all there was to learn, especially about child psychology. He wanted to be able to help each and every child and bring smiles back to their faces no matter what they’d gone through. Except that he couldn’t. He couldn’t even get his notes down properly before he started to doze off, despite how uncomfortable his chair was.  
  After another lecture (in which he did not fall alseep thanks to several jabs with an elbow by his neighbour), it was time to head back home, eat, and prepare for another afternoon shift. The pace was killing him. Maybe he’d have some time to study during his break at work…

* * *

The week trudged on. Jack floated along on the flow of time, trying to keep his head above the water while the undercurrent was trying to pull him down. Whenever he got a shift that ended at sunset, he’d walk through the park, and the brunet would be there on the bench. This time was no different. Again, Jack greeted him with a simple ‘hi’, and again there is no response.  
  Now that’s just rude.  
Jack stops dead in his tracks and shields his eyes from the sun. Indeed, it was probably a boy, and he was turned away from Jack, looking at the pond. The guy didn’t seem to be wearing headphones or something.  
  “I said: hi”, Jack repeated, louder.  
  Come on, at least this guy could have the common courtesy to say hi back. Jack’s been greeting him for days now; this is beyond just shy or something.  
  “Are you deaf or something?” Jack snapped. Still, no response from the brown mop of hair. “Dick!”  
  Deep down Jack knew his anger was childish and completely irrational. Something this small wasn’t worth getting upset over, and normally he would just shrug it off. But today, it was the final push that he needed to turn his piss-poor mood into a angry, depressed, dark feeling.  
  He stomped away, angry at the world and in particular that glowing blob of hair.

* * *

Jack’s next shift ended early. It wasn’t quite time for the sun to set yet, and he found himself staring at an empty bench in the park. He felt the irrational anger shimmer inside him, but he suppressed it. He was better than that.  
  Curious what this guy was always looking at, he walked over and sat down on the middle of the wooden bench. The sight in front of him was nice, but nothing special. Sure, it would make a well composed photograph… The setting sun creating silhouettes of the trees across the pond. The reflection in the water of both the trees and the sun. The nearby tree on the left creating more depth in the image. It was nice, but all in all not that special. Certainly not special enough to look at every day.  
  Maybe there was something happening on the other side every day? You have to be at least a little bit crazy to come here very day, right? Or was this guy stalking someone else?!   
  Come on, Jack, don’t be ridiculous.   
  Maybe he was just painting this particular sunset at home, and he came here every day for reference. No, then he would have just taken a picture…  
  While Jack was pondering, he failed to notice someone walked up to him.  
  “Sorry, could you move a bit?”  
  Jack looked up. This was the first time that he’d seen the boy from the front. His guess was correct; it was a boy. His face was covered in freckles, his nose was plump, and his smile seemed a bit goofy. Jack scooted over so the boy could sit down as well, and he returned to staring out over the pond. He squinted against the bright sun.  
  “So now you _do_ talk to me,” Jack remarked, unable to keep some sarcasm from his voice.  
  “Sorry, are you talking to me?” The boy’s speech was a bit slurred, as if his tongue didn’t quite cooperate the way it should.  
  Jack turned to face him. “Yes. What, are you deaf or something?”  
  The boy looked at him defiantly. “Yes. Completely, in both ears.”  
   _Oh. SHIT._  
  “Not quite what you expected?” he continued relentlessly, obviously enjoying Jack inevitable embarrassment a bit.  
  “I ehh… shit, I’m sorry. No, not the answer that I expected.”  
  The brunet laughed and shook his head.  
  “I can read lips a bit, so if you look at me and talk normally, I can get most standard things.”  
  “Damn. This explains a lot.”  
  “Explains what?”  
  “I always walk past here on my way home, and I always say ‘hi’” Jack waved to depict his words. “And you never respond. I thought you were an asshole, but it turns out I was the ass all along.”  
  The other boy threw back his head, laughing. Jack laughed along, realizing that his anger was even more unreasonable than he’d initially thought.  
  “I’m Jack.”  
  “Hiccup,” the boy replied as he shook Jack’s hand.  
  “So… why do you come here?” Jack asked, looking at the pond again, shielding his eyes against the setting sun.  
  “What?”  
  “Sorry.” Jack faced Hiccup again. “Why do you come here?”  
  Hiccup shrugged. “It’s pretty. And quiet.”  
  That last bit struck Jack as odd, but he didn’t dare ask what Hiccup meant by it. It’d probably come out wrong and make him look like an even bigger ass if that was at all possible. Now that he was sitting on the bench with the guy he’d greeted so many times, he suddenly felt self-conscious and awkward. It didn’t take long before he couldn’t stand the silence anymore and said goodbye, quickly returning to his dorm.

* * *

“Here.” Jack stood in front of Hiccup with two hot cups of starbucks in his hand. “I hope you like cappuccino.”  
  Hiccup beamed and accepted the cup. “I have no idea what you just said - the sun blinded me. But thanks! To what do I owe this?” he asked as Jack sat down next to him.  
  “It’s sort of an apology.”  
  “Did you say apology?”  
  “Yes.” Jack nodded. “Because of the asshole ‘are you deaf’ question.”  
  Hiccup smiled and nodded. He had caught little of what Jack had said, but he could guess at his meaning pretty well. Once you get the ‘apology’ part it’s pretty easy to fill in the rest. They watched the pond in silence, drinking their coffee.  
  “So…” Jack started, until he noticed Hiccup wasn’t looking at him. He tapped the brunet on his shoulder to catch his attention. “Do you come here every day?”  
  Hiccup nodded. “I like to get out. Studying all day is tiresome, so I go here for a while to be alone.”  
  “Oh… sorry to interrupt your time alone.”  
  “Who’s gone?”  
  Jack gave him a quizzical look, and Hiccup laughed. “I got that wrong, didn’t I? That happens when I read lips.”  
  “I assume you know sign language?” Jack asked, articulating every word as clear as he could. He thought he was making it easier for Hiccup, but he was met with a confused stare.  
  “Sorry, but… please talk normally, or I can’t understand…”  
  Jack tried again, this time with more success. He asked if Hiccup wanted to teach him some things, and the brunet seemed more than happy to do so. With the most wonderful, warm smile on his face, he showed Jack a dozen different signs. It was just the basics: ‘me’, ‘you’, ‘park’, ‘bench’, ‘talking’, ‘friendship’, and so on. He seemed particularly in his element when he showed ‘friendship’ and Jack made an effort to at the very least memorize that one right. When a duck descended into the pond, Hiccup taught him the sign for that as well.   
  All too soon, the sun had disappeared behind the trees.  
  “Will you be here tomorrow?”  
  “I’ll always be here. Unless it rains.”  
  “You are one die-hard sunset enthusiast.”

* * *

It was remarkable how quickly going to the bench every evening had become a part of Jack’s daily routine. Even if he didn’t have the afternoon shift, he would still go here from his dorm to meet up with his deaf friend. Sometimes they just sat there admiring the view. Other times Hiccup taught him some signs; Jack even learned to sign a pun.   
  Often they talked about a wide range of things. Hiccup asked Jack the regular, boring questions, like what he studied, how old he was, and where he lived. Jack in turn told Hiccup about his work, venting how annoying or plain terrible his colleagues were at the 7/11. He was also dying to know what Hiccup liked to do in his free time and he was surprised to find out that animation movies was a passion of his. Apparently those were still mesmerizing, even without the sound. Jack avoided the reason Hiccup was even there, however. The teen was coming to this park to get a break from whatever his daily life was. That much was clear. Jack respected that and decided that Hiccup’s daily life wasn’t a topic that needed to be discussed. There were plenty of other things to talk about, and even their silences were comfortable.  
  One day, Hiccup asked what the sound of the water was like. Jack didn’t have an answer right away, and he’d felt a bit bad about it, but Hiccup didn’t seem hurt. Rather just… curious. Jack did his homework, and the next time they met, he described water in the most poetical way he could find. He did so with a stern, serious face, which made Hiccup laugh. He then asked what the wind sounded like.  
  Just like that, yet another ‘tradition’ was born. Hiccup would ask what something sounded like, and Jack would look up a poem to describe it. If he couldn’t find anything, he would think of a metaphor or comparison himself, comparing the sound to things Hiccup did know, relating it to touch, smell, and sight. Hiccup liked those poems best - yes he called Jack’s explanations poems as well. Secretly, he started asking more difficult things, hoping Jack couldn’t find any written poem so he would make one himself.

* * *

“Icecream?”  
  “Yes,” Hiccup smiled, handing Jack a cup.  
  “So that’s where you were.”  
  “Sorry to make you wait.”  
  “The icecream makes up for that. Is that mint?! Oh you are SO forgiven.”  
  They laughed and Jack attacked his icecream in earnest, enjoying every bite. The fact that Hiccup had remembered his favourite flavour only made it better.  
  After a while, Jack drew the brunets attention with a tap on his shoulder. Hesitantly, he started to sign.  
   _I… want… to… talk_ \- no, not talk. Jack shook his head. _Ask. I want to ask you._  
  His hands faltered while he tried to remember the next signs. Hiccup’s icecream was completely forgotten in his hands. He only had eyes for Jack. Hiccup stared at the other teen with wide eyes that reflected the sun, turning an almost unnatural hue of green. His mouth formed an even bigger smile, and he nodded encouragingly, urging Jack to continue. This was the very first time that Jack had tried signing all on his own. Spontaneously. It made Hiccup immeasurably happy to see Jack try like that, even if he was struggling for words.  
   _Ask you… baby eating._   
  Hiccup bit back a laugh and Jack blushed, shaking his head.  
  “No no, I can do this!” he mumbled, most of which was lost to Hiccup.  
   _You… me… walk…_  
  Still Hiccup had his expectant look. He motioned for Jack to calm down and take a deep breath, then continue. Jack did and tried one last time…  
  … only to fail again. He thought he’d done it right this time, but Hiccup’s plainly confused look told him differently. He sighed and grabbed a cheat-sheet from his pocket. He’d been learning sign language on his own to surprise Hiccup, and this sheet was his backup plan. It contained all the letters separately so he could spell it out. He squinted at the hand symbols, looking for the right ones to mimic. Before he could complete his word though, a gust of wind snatched the paper from his hands, blowing it across the pond.  
  “FUCK!”   
  Hiccup felt bad for Jack - he was trying so hard! - but laughed nonetheless.  
  “It’s okay. Just say it, I can follow.”  
  “I wanted to surprise you by signing…”  
   _I want to ask you…_ Jack grabbed Hiccup’s hand and spelled the last word in his palm. _D-A-T-E-?_  
  “You’re asking me out?” Hiccup’s asked in plain disbelief.  
   _YES!_ Jack signed, nodding furiously.   
  Hiccup signed back. _I want to go on a date with you._  
  “That’s how you sign date, by the way…”  
  “Yeah yeah, rub it in”, Jack replied with a wry smile.  
  “When and where?” Hiccup signed together with his words.  
  Jack did the same. _Tomorrow. Pick you up here._  
  At that instant, Jack knew he’d done the right thing. The look on Hiccup’s face made all those hours learning sign language completely worth it. The rest of that evening, the brunet was sitting much closer to him on the bench than was strictly necessary. Not that Jack would complain.


End file.
